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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29784519">May I have this dance?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting'>samariumwriting</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Ballroom Dancing, F/M, First Meetings, Mental Health Issues, Roleswap, Trans Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Trans Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:41:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,433</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29784519</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dimitri, Baron of the Blaiddyd region of Faerghus, attends the birthday celebration of Princess Marianne of Leicester. He doesn't think there's any use to attending - not until he meets the host.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>May I have this dance?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic was written for the Dimimari zine! It was a super neat concept to work with and I'm very glad I got to write it</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Announcing Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Baron of the Blaiddyd region in Faerghus,” proclaimed the Master of Ceremonies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri bit his lip as he descended the stairs into the ballroom. The birthday ball for the Princess of Leicester, the event he’d considered not even attending due to its distance from his home. There were people everywhere, and that never meant anything good for his nerves. Left with no other option, he sought refuge at the edge of the room; their stares fell away the moment he vacated the staircase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You could say what you liked about the nobles of Fódlan, but there were enough of them that someone as minor as him wasn’t interesting enough to stay in the spotlight for long. It made it far easier for him to take his place far from the centre of the ballroom and decisively avoid doing any actual dancing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he shouldn’t, anyway - his dancing was poor at best and always had been, his hands too clumsy and his grip too strong to ever make for a picture of grace on that brightly lit, well-frequented floor. If he attempted to find a partner, he would only give people the wrong idea, and if he actually managed to get a </span>
  <em>
    <span>dance… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Well, it would be better if he didn’t. He’d only bring disrepute on his house and tarnish the honour of his departed family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From there, it was almost inevitable that his thoughts spiralled. As the couples in soft, floating skirts and twisting coattails spun in circle after circle, their tight dance ever blocking him out, he knew: he was a dead end for his household. He could not continue the family line that held hundreds of years of history, and would instead only be able to govern his little corner of Faerghus until he sank into the earth itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Really, he shouldn’t have even attended the ball. He had nothing to offer anyone here, and no one would remember his presence. If they did, it would only reinforce his lonely figure; someone to be pitied at best and reviled at worst.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me,” a voice said, snapping Dimitri out of his thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He startled, raising his gaze from his shoes, to meet the eyes of— Princess Marianne. His thoughts scattered to the wind, lost in the high ceiling of the ballroom, and he barely managed to stammer out a greeting before she continued. “I thought I would… ask if you’d like to dance with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri knew he should say no. He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>been thinking about how he shouldn’t even be here in the first place; dancing with the princess was unthinkable. But refusing would be even ruder, so that left him with little choice. “I would love to,” he said, hoping he sounded genuine. “But I must warn you, I may just be the worst dance partner you will have tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Marianne… giggled. Her laugh was soft, light, and her </span>
  <em>
    <span>smile, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Goddess - if Dimitri didn’t know better than to blaspheme, he would say he’d been visited by the Goddess’ visage herself. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I-I’m not very good either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, Dimitri felt a little self conscious when he took her hand in his to lead her to the dance floor. His hands were rough with lancework, stained with invisible blood from the past years of Fódlan’s unrest, and hers were smooth. He knew, of course, that the princess Marianne was a healer, but he hadn’t quite understood what that meant until now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next to her, he felt monstrous, and the dance didn’t change his mind. Despite her words, she was a fantastic dancer. She was graceful, and perhaps a little tentative, but he couldn’t blame her - his own steps were faltering enough that she was probably rightly worried that he would step on her toes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was patient, though, and she offered him an encouraging smile every time he managed to pull his gaze from his feet long enough to look at her. That, at least, made him want to keep going, but it </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>only spurred him to be more careful, and he loosened his grip around her shoulders to avoid hurting her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet the moment he did, Marianne slipped out of his arms. She let out a soft noise of surprise, and as she fell backwards it felt like everything was happening too slowly and so fast at the same time. His heart beating painfully in his chest, Dimitri lunged forwards, thankfully managing to hook his arms around her waist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their eyes met.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, it felt as if the whole ballroom stilled. The music played faintly in the background as Dimitri stared into Marianne’s brown eyes. She was beautiful, and when she realised she hadn’t hit the ground, her face broke into the most stunning smile Dimitri had ever seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In spite of himself, he smiled back, and pulled her to her feet once more. “My apologies,” he said, as the world began to turn again. “It won’t happen again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marianne laughed softly. “I wouldn’t mind if it did,” she said, her steps slowing as the dance came to a close. The song, and their time together, was about to end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri bid Marianne farewell and returned to his corner once the dance ended. She went back to roaming the ballroom, speaking to anyone and everyone. Even though she seemed a little shy, she clearly held an inner confidence he could never hope to attain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the evening continued, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She danced with a few more individuals - she took up a lively set alongside a well-dressed man with long purple hair and then another with an individual Dimitri recognised as a Goneril child. Her movements in those dances were effortless, and watching her was like observing a masterpiece in motion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dimitri,” she said, approaching him once more as the ball began to wind down. “May I have another dance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had not danced with a single person twice. Dimitri would be the only one. “Of course!” he answered, bowing to her once more and moving to lead her to the dance floor again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marianne shook her head. “I’d rather go somewhere a little quieter,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri blinked, but managed to recover eventually. “Lead the way.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she did, guiding him to the sanctuary of a balcony. The door closed behind them, and the music faded into a faint murmur. Only the vaguest of rhythms remained, and Dimitri used that to guide the way he swayed slowly with Marianne in his arms. It wasn’t as structured as the dance they had before, but it somehow felt… easier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the song came to a close, Dimitri became aware that he was probably far, far too close to her. He could feel the warmth of her body, so close to his, and the light in her smile was almost blinding. “Dimitri, may I ask you something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please,” he replied. He didn’t know what else to say; it felt a little like all the words in his head had been abandoned in the ballroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you consider staying in Edmund?” she asked. “I would like to get to know you a little better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri knew that attracting the attention of the princess wasn’t something that just anyone would do, and that he might not be able to walk away without explaining himself, but… he hadn’t expected this. “I fear I would make a poor match for you,” he said, hoping she couldn’t hear how much it pained him to say it. “I cannot give you what you need.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he spoke, he gestured vaguely at himself. Surely she’d been close enough to him that she got the message. Even if she hadn’t, she’d get it now. But when his eyes met hers once more, it was to a sad smile rather than a frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not,” Marianne said, “but- i-if you don’t mind me saying so, I think you can give me something I’d much rather have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri’s breath caught in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, sure he was dreaming, but when he opened them again she was still there. He leaned forward and lifted her right hand in his own, pressing a gentle kiss to its surface. “I would be delighted to try,” he answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, Marianne smiled, and a thought came to Dimitri unwarranted: he would do anything to see that smile every day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light was low, outside in the cool night air, but in that moment the future seemed impossibly bright.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! :) if you enjoyed, I'd love it if you left a kudos/comment, it really means a lot</p><p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/samariumwriting">twitter</a>
  <br/>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/samariumwriting/status/1366477434984558607?s=20">promo post</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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